Chapter 37: I want to, but I''m afraid of the pain


    Chapter 37: I want to, but I’m afraid of the pain


    “Go to sleep.” After Scarlett tucked him in, she turned off the ward light,y back in the bed next to him, and turned her back to Ethan to sleep. The ward instantly fell silent.


    Ethany in the hospital bed, turning his head to look at his aunt’s silhouette. In the dim light, a bit of moonlight shining through the window outlined the graceful curves beneath her thin nket.


    His mind waspletely nk now, her words still echoing in his ears.


    She had said she needed time to think, not that she had refused.


    Why hadn’t she refused?


    Ethan was in a strange predicament. If his aunt really agreed, although his lifelong wish would be fulfilled, he wouldn’t be able toplete his mission.


    But if he really could be with his aunt…


    Images of his aunt’s graceful, voluptuous figure and her pale, smooth skin shed through Ethan’s mind. It seemed like he could die happy.


    That night, he dreamt of sleeping with his aunt for the first time in a long while.


    The next day arrived.


    Scarlett hid in the school’s gym equipment room at noon, biting into a sandwich. She looked around to make sure no one was there, then patted the dust off a mat and sat down cross-legged.


    She worked at the school and often had to tally up gymnastics equipment orders, so she had the keys to this ce.


    After settling down, she scanned her surroundings again to make sure no students were hiding there during lunch, then pulled out her phone.


    She opened a mysterious adult website, selected a movie, and hit y.


    Scarlett watched intently, then, still holding her sandwich, started to mimic the actions.


    Fear flickered in Scarlett’s eyes, her beautiful face twisted with conflict.


    “Mom, what are you doing?” A cool voice sounded from behind her.


    “Ah?!” Scarlett jumped back half a step, hiding her phone behind her, and when she saw it was ir, she rxed. ir was dressed in a basketball outfit, holding a basketball, her eyes staring intently.


    “Phew…” Scarlett breathed a sigh of relief, cing one hand on her hip and looking up at ir, who was a head taller than her. “Outside, you should call me ‘sister’. Were you looking for me?”


    The two were sisters, but because of the significant age difference, ir had always insisted on calling her ‘mom’ when she was little. Scarlett simply let ir call her ‘mom’, and as ir grew older, it just never got corrected.


    Their rtionship was more like that of mother and daughter.


    Although ir was a member of the women’s basketball team, she usually had no reason toe to this equipment room.


    “Yeah, I didn’t see you in the office.” ir’s gaze was suspicious as she looked at the phone behind Scarlett.


    Scarlett quietly turned down the volume on her phone behind her back, then casually put it away. “Is something up?”


    “I’m thinking of quitting the basketball team,” ir said.


    “Why?” Scarlett’s eyebrows knitted together in concern. ir was a key yer on the school’s women’s basketball team. “You’re about topete in the national women’s college basketball tournament, right? Why quit now? Winning the championship is your dream, isn’t it?”


    “Ethan doesn’t have much time left,” ir said calmly. “Even though he seems to be recovering, I asked the doctor, and his condition isn’t really improving. I want to spend more time with him in the end.”


    Scarlett hesitated, then said, “I think he wouldn’t want you to give up your dreams for him. I can make more time to be with him.”


    “It’s not about him,” ir shook her head. “I want to spend more time with him myself.”


    Silence fell between them.


    Scarlett opened her mouth several times, then stopped, finally looking up at ir with a resigned expression. “ir, you’ve grown up, but don’t let yourself have regrets.”


    She felt guilty, realizing that although ir called her ‘mom’, she hadn’t fully lived up to the responsibilities of a mother.


    “Yeah.” ir nodded, then suddenly raised her hand, holding two beautifully packed lunch bags. “Mom, want something to eat?”


    “Ah?” Scarlett, holding a sandwich, looked at the elegant lunch boxes in ir’s hands. Guilt filled her heart; she should have been the one preparing lunch for ir, but now ir was taking care of it herself.


    Thinking of how ir, not skilled in cooking, still stubbornly prepared lunch for herself, Scarlett’s eyes suddenly reddened with emotion. This was all love.


    Her child had grown up and was now taking care of her mother.


    “I’m sorry…” Scarlett’s eyes welled up with tears, thinking about how she hadn’t prepared lunch for ir since Ethan fell ill.


    Sharing a meal at noon was an important social interaction among women.


    Thinking of ir’s friends eating lunch together and chatting, while ir had to hide away, Scarlett felt a pang of heartache.


    She watched as ir opened the beautifully packed lunch box, revealing a spread of delicious food that seemed toovish for a student’s lunch.


    “Uh,” Scarlett was taken aback. “ir, your cooking skills… have improved a lot.”


    “Ah? These were given to me by friends.” ir exined as she opened the lunch box. “They said they made an extra portion and it would be a waste to throw it away every day… Mom, what’s wrong?”


    “It’s nothing.” Scarlett raised her hand, holding back tears, clutching her sandwich. “ir, you’ve really grown up.”


    It turned out she was the one pitifully eating sandwiches every day.


    As evening approached, Scarlett didn’t return to the hospital. Unsure of what face to show Ethan, she sat in a fast-food restaurant, resting her chin on her hands, watching the people outside the window.


    The ss door of the fast-food restaurant was pushed open, and a woman in a suit walked in. “Hey, Scarlett, it’s been a while since we’ve caught up.”


    “Yeah, long time no see.” Scarlett smiled, the woman in the suit was one of her few friends.


    They exchanged updates about their lives.


    “Calling me out suddenly today, you must have something on your mind?” The woman in the suit held her coffee, her gaze scanning Scarlett. “Let me guess, it must be about a man.”


    “Ah?” Scarlett gasped, covering her mouth, her eyes wide with disbelief.


    “Pfft, I was just saying that randomly.” The woman in the suit covered her mouth, giggling. “Come on, if it’s about love, asking me won’t steer you wrong.”


    “Well…” Scarlett looked around, choosing an angle where they wouldn’t be easily overheard. Two beautiful women sitting together would definitely attract attention.


    To speak without worrying about being overheard, she lowered her voice and asked a question,”Does it hurt to have sex with a man?”


    “?”The woman in the suit’s hand, holding the coffee, froze mid-air, her expression slowly turning amused, and then she burst intoughter.